Journal of critical care
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Journal of critical care · Apr 2014
The compromised inflammatory response to bacterial components after pediatric cardiac surgery is associated with cardiopulmonary bypass-suppressed Toll-like receptor signal transduction pathways.
Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) during pediatric cardiac surgery often elicits a systemic inflammatory response followed by a compromised immune response, which has been attributed to the morbidity of postoperative infection; however, the underlying mechanism(s) has not yet been fully elucidated. We hypothesized that CPB inhibits the activation of Toll-like receptor (TLR) signal transduction pathways, thereby causing an immunosuppressive state after pediatric cardiac surgery. ⋯ These results indicate that CPB during pediatric cardiac surgery causes substantially reduced production of inflammatory cytokines in response to bacterial component LPS or BLP stimulation, which is associated with CPB-induced suppression of TLR-mediated signal transduction pathways. This reduced inflammatory response after CPB in children with congenital heart disease may predispose them to an increased risk of postoperative infection.
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Journal of critical care · Apr 2014
The desirability of an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) Clinician-Led Bereavement Screening and Support Program for Family Members of ICU Decedents (ICU Bereave).
Many bereaved family members (FMs) of intensive care unit decedents experience symptoms of complicated grief (CG) or social distress, but there is no standard screening or follow-up for these individuals. We determined the desirability and need for an intensive care unit-based bereavement screening and support program for these FMs. ⋯ An ICU-based bereavement screening and support program for FMs of ICU decedents is both needed and desirable, although there are important needs and barriers. Future studies should evaluate the effectiveness for such a program at improving outcomes among bereaved FMs.
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Journal of critical care · Apr 2014
Simple bedside predictors of mechanical ventilation in patients with Guillain-Barre syndrome.
The objective of the study is to develop and validate a predictor score for assessing the requirement of mechanical ventilation (MV) in patients with Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS). ⋯ Several independent risk factors were found to predict the requirement for MV in patients with GBS at admission. However, after scoring and analyzing them, it was found that combining a few of them was more useful to predict the need for MV. A model using NSB score, developed using clinical variables, accurately predicted the requirement of MV. In addition, among the NSB score parameters, simple bedside SBC could adequately assess the adequacy of vital capacity.
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Journal of critical care · Apr 2014
Prediction equation to estimate dead space to tidal volume fraction correlates with mortality in critically ill patients.
The measurement of dead space to tidal volume fraction (Vd/Vt) using various methodologies has been shown to be a reliable predictor of mortality in critically ill patients. In this study, we evaluated the correlation of a validated equation using clinically available information to predict calculation of Vd/Vt with clinically relevant outcome parameters in patients requiring mechanical ventilation. ⋯ In this study-specific population of critically ill patients, the prediction equation of Vd/Vt using clinically available parameters correlates with mortality. In addition, we provide a simple method to estimate Vd/Vt that can be potentially applicable to all critically ill intensive care unit patients.
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Journal of critical care · Apr 2014
Neurally adjusted ventilatory assist vs pressure support ventilation in infants recovering from severe acute respiratory distress syndrome: Nested study.
Neurally adjusted ventilatory assist (NAVA) is a new ventilator modality with an innovative synchronization technique. Our aim is to verify if NAVA is feasible and safe in terms of physiological and clinical variables in infants recovering from severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). ⋯ Neurally adjusted ventilatory assist is safe and suitable in infants recovering from severe ARDS. It could provide better results than PSV and is worth to be investigated in a multicenter randomized trial.